


Aviophobia

by pinkamour1588



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Academy Era, F/M, Fluff, Psychology, Reader-Insert, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-29 03:43:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11432451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkamour1588/pseuds/pinkamour1588
Summary: Academy era Leonard and his aviophobia, and the slip of the tongue that defines his romantic relationship with the reader.





	Aviophobia

**Author's Note:**

> Previously posted on my tumblr account.

“I hate this,” Leonard muttered as he fumbled with the buckle on his harness, hands shaking.

“We’re getting to tour an actual Med Bay on an actual ship and you’re complaining.” You raised an eyebrow at him as you buckled your harness.

“Aviophobia,” he hissed.

“Enrolled in Starfleet,” you whispered as you looked over at him, then let out a small sigh as you reached over and pushed his shaking hands away from the buckle, buckling it for him. You looked over at him, furrowing your eyebrows. “You were completely serious,” you stated, a bit shocked.

“You thought I was joking?”

You gave him a small smile.

“Are you laughing at me? One tiny crack in the hull and…”

“I’m not laughing at you,” you cut him off. You looked him over, analyzing his demeanor and noticing how hard he was gripping his pant leg. You reached over and loosened his grip, replacing his pant leg with your hand for him to grip. “Grip the living hell out of it, just try not to break my hand,” you said gently.

And, lord, did he grip your hand tight. As the doors to the shuttle began closing, his panic increased.

“Leonard, what’s your favorite color?” you asked.

He looked over at you like you’d lost your mind.

“What’s your favorite color?” you repeated.

“Green,” he answered.

“Any particular reason?”

“It’s Jo’s eye color. Oh, god, what if…”

“That’s a good reason. What’s her favorite color?” you cut him off quickly.

“I think it’s still purple.” He was looking around the shuttle frantically.

You reached up and gently turned his face to look at you. “Just straight purple or lavender or more pinky-purple?”

“Plain purple.”

“I’m a little more inclined to dark purple or lilac,” you smiled. “What was Jo’s first word?”

“I actually managed for it to be ‘dada’. One of my few fatherhood accomplishments.”

“Is she coming for the holidays?”

“Yeah. I get her for Christmas.”

“I can’t wait to meet her, assuming you’re ok with that. I’m sure all those pictures never do her justice.”

He looked at you, a bit perplexed. “They don’t. And of course I want you to meet her. You’re my…” He trailed off unsure how to fill in the blank.

“Whatever I am, I’m looking forward to meeting her. If she’s anything like her dad, I’m sure she’s amazing.”

A few minutes later, he had certainly started to relax, forgetting where exactly he was. That is until it jolted suddenly and he gripped your hand tighter than ever. You carefully untangled your hand from his and replaced it with your other hand. You leaned as close as you could to him and put your arm around his shoulders to the best of your ability.

“Deep breath,” you soothed quietly to not draw attention to the situation.

“Kinda difficult when you’re panicking,” he answered in a clipped tone.

“What can I do?” You moved your hand that had been resting on his shoulder to the back of his neck to keep his head turned towards you, rubbing right below his ear lightly with your thumb.

“Don’t know,” he mumbled.

“Well, do you want me to talk or be quiet?”

“Talk. I don’t care what it’s about.”

You thought for a moment, then said, “I was wondering if I should buy Jo a gift or not. I mean, I want to but you and I haven’t really defined what we are so I don’t know if it would be appropriate. And if I do, what do I get her? Oh, and…” You blathered on until you felt his pulse steady and the shuttle came to a stop.

~~~

That evening, after a slightly calmer flight back to the Academy, Leonard was walking you back to your dorm as a few raindrops started falling. “I’m pathetic,” he sighed after a long silence had fallen between you.

“Care to elaborate?” you answered.

“I had to have my girlfriend hold my hand the entire time I was on a moving shuttle and had a panic attack when there was a minor sudden movement. What’s not pathetic about a grown man with a child doing that?” he answered, not realizing you had stopped walking several feet ago until he turned to look at you and saw you weren’t there. He quickly turned around to see you frozen in place several feet away. “What?” he asked walking over to you and taking in your dumbstruck expression under the streetlight.

“What did you just call me?” you said softly, your eyebrows furrowed together.

He looked down at you as he thought over what he had said, his eyes widening suddenly. “Oh god, I’m sorry. We haven’t discussed that. It just slipped out,” he stammered.

“I liked it,” you whispered.

“So, is this us discussing it?” he asked as you reached out and took one of his hands.

“What’s there to discuss? You called me your girlfriend and I liked it.”

“I mean, does this mean we’re exclusive now?”

“What, are you playing the field?” you teased.

“Oh, no,” he shook his head, panicking a little for a moment. “I just assumed you might be.”

You laughed. “You assumed that the woman pursuing you would be playing the field? I thought you were the smart one.”

A flush crept up the back of his neck at the realization his thought process was ridiculous.

“Are you blushing?” you asked grinning.

“No,” he muttered as he looked away, trying to the flush that had spread to his cheeks.

“You are,” you laughed as the raindrops started getting heavier but neither one of you gave a damn.

You tugged his hand to pull him closer and reached up, resting your hand on his cheek and turning his head towards you to look at you. You smiled up at him, stretching your thumb out to trace over his bottom lip. You just stared up at him with a smile on your lips as you twisted your fingers together. He mindlessly rubbed the back of your hand with his thumb. Your thumb that you’d been tracing his bottom lip with moved run over his cheekbone.

“For the record, I never claimed to be the smart one,” he said softly.

“Well, one of us has to be,” you smiled, “And I’m the pretty one.”

“That you are,” he breathed, putting his free hand on your hip.

“Are you going to stare at me or kiss me?”

“Which would you prefer?”

“Kiss me, you Southern fool.”

He smiled and leaned down, kissing you softly. Your hand on his cheek moved to the back of his neck, twisting your fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck. He let go of your hand and moved his now free hand to rest on the back of your neck. You wrapped your now free arm around his waist, holding him tightly. By now the rain was pouring down soaking the two of you. But that was the last of your concerns. The only thing you could think of was how soft his lips were and how warm he felt against you as the rain soaked you both to the skin.

“We should get inside,” he mumbled against your lips after a minute.

“Probably,” you breathed before kissing him again.

“We’re going to freeze.”

You hummed against his lips. For a few more minutes, he indulged you, and himself, before pulling his lips away from mine.

“Come back to my dorm. It’s closer,” he said gesturing toward your rain soaked clothes.

You nodded, pulling away from him, taking one of his hands again, and intertwining your fingers as you walked to his dorm.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [tumblr](http://pinkamour1588.tumblr.com)


End file.
